Chicago!!! The City of Broad Shoulders

Corn on the Cob Buildings, Chicago

In November 2009, Virginia and I trekked to Chicago. It was our first time visiting. And that is when I fell in love with both the city and the people.

 

The shrimp risotto was an epiphany at Quartino's. Volare's was yummy. Lunch at the Drake Hotel was elegant and so tasty, with a view of the Beach on Lake Michigan.

 

Virginia and I walked everywhere, and visited Michigan Avenue's Magnificent Mile, window shopping in fabulous stores, buying Frette linens, walking in the lovely area where a Frank Lloyd Wright miracle-of-futuristic-thinking sits cheek and jowl with a turn-of-the-century typical brownstone in the tony part of Astor St. Also on Astor St. are billionaires' residences and the previous den of iniquity known as the Playboy Mansion. Hef since has moved on, but his roots are in Chicago.

 

We elbowed our way thru the American Doll Store, uncertain if we would ever reemerge. It has a fetishist quality.

 

One highlight of our trip was our Architectural boat tour, 90 minutes of breathtaking architecture, as seen from the Chicago River. Wow, the views were awesome! The breeze was chilly, but worth every minute of icicle feet.

Virginia at Millennium Park, reflected in the Bean

 

Another highlight was the Art Institute. Where else could you see "Van Gogh's Bedroom," "La Grand Jatte," "American Gothic,"

"Nighthawks", etc., etc., all under one roof? Nowhere else.

 

Amazing fact: the Chicago residents are some of the friendliest people I have ever met. They are just as friendly as Southerners, maybe more so. It led us to ask, why? And how soon can we persuade them all to move here? As soon as we landed in DC, it all reverted back. Everybody rushing home. I miss Chicago...

 

Love,

 

patsie >^..^<

Mr. Genuario

Dear Imaginary Readers,

Mr. Genuario's friend commissioned me to draw him in front of his office, which as you can see, I did. He is a well-known local builder. I can relate to builders, because they leave behind a real legacy of objects, much like artists leave behind their art. Builders make their mark upon the cityscape, and we artists make our mark in homes, galleries and museums for posterity to either enjoy or not.

Here's to Mr. G and his artistic homes!

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Queen Anne's Lace

Queen Anne's Lace, Oil, by Patricia Uchello

Leaving Phoenix: Some Reasons to Go Home

Desert Museum in Tuscon, AZ

Today we are heading home from Phoenix. Yesterday, we saw Wolf Blitzer at the Arizona Biltmore having lunch, as were we. He is a short little dude, made more noticeable by all the NBA guys in town, towering over us. The All Stars game is tonight.
I also saw Kobe Bryant in town at the pizzeria place. He came too late. No pizza for you!

I have never felt this short in my life~~~

Yesterday, we went to the desert museum in Tucson, saw the mountain lions (Nice kitty!), scorpions, tarantulas, etc., all convincing arguments to stay the heck out of the desert.
We saw more saguaro cacti than we could ever imagine.  

And we never did catch a glimpse of Wiley Coyote or the roadrunner.

See you,

 

patsie >^..^<

Phoenix Revisited, Days Three and Four

Coffeepot Rock, Oil, 5 x 7", 2009, by Patricia Uchello, for sale

 Days Three and Four, Last day in Sedona, then trip to Phoenix

Hey, Clint, got a cup of sugar?

We made a quick trip to the Chapel of Our Lady in the hills, which has the most gorgeous cliff-side setting, but noticed a garish mansion across the street. It was not the rectory. It is a 12 million dollar house with 24 carat gold plated iron gates, a waterfall,  the works. It even has its own observatory! That was a new feature I had never seen before...perfect for stargazers.  The neighbors got so mad at the builder, a dot com profiteer, that he decided not to move in, and it is on the market, never lived-in, ripe for the taking. I bet if Clint Eastwood bought it, they would get over their anger!

The Drowned cat award for perseverance and tenacity
Then we headed back into downtown Sedona to the lovely Tlaquepaque -a Mexican village of shops-to have lunch at Rene's French Restaurant. Yum! Checked out the local glass gallery, dodging heavy rain between the shops. It was time to head out for the short trek south to the grand view of Cathedral Rock and Oak Creek. Well, we had been told by dear friends that just 100 yards from the street, one could walk to see the view so often featured on AAA road maps for the US, Cathedral Rock looming large and grand over the creek, which held its reflection. Uh, we had one half-broken umbrella, dress shoes, no raincoats. It was raining very heavily, with snow and a low hanging cloudcover atop all the mountains. But how often do you have this kind of opportunity? Besides, our friend said it was a 100 yd. hike.
We found a very slippery, red muddy trail, so naturally we followed it, blind trust all the way, even though we were going down steep ravines, and going way farther than we thought we would be.

Well, we looked like wet cats with muddy red paws, soaked thru to the skin, when we ran into a vortex guide. He was official. I know that cuz he was carrying a stick. The ladies with him told me, "Nice shoes." I described the view we were talking about. He said, oh, you need to take this path, not that path. Turn around and go a zillion miles back.
We ended up hiking several miles, 1 /1/2 hours in heavy rain, freezing in 34 degrees, but we finally found it, walking across streams to get there. The shoes? Not in the best condition. Were they new? Of course! Have you ever been so drenched that even your underwear was wet? We were that wet and that cold. But we saw the durn mountain in front of the stream. Never say die.

Sunshine State
The night before, we had missed out on staying at the South rim of the grand canyon, because of a winter storm that dumped 29 inches of snow over 2 days, which were of course the two days we were scheduled to be there. C'est la vie. We will have to return. And it will not be in February. There were 200 car accidents in Flagstone in the last 2 days: slide-off-the-roads, and collisions. Luckily, we did not go there. Drowned cat award, or not.

The trek in the car back to Phoenix was very rainy, and sleety. Isn't Arizona supposed to be the sunshine state?
Today, Tuesday, Phoenix is redeeming itself with bright sunshine. My coat is even drying out!

We are staying in a Sheraton that Frommer gave The Ugliest Bedspread Award to for six consecutive years. Or if they didn't, they should have.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Phoenix Revisited, Day Two, 2009

Red Rocks, Oil , 2009, Patricia Uchello

Day Two, exploring Sedona.

PLAN B

We woke up to find snow on the mountain tops. Gray clouds hung low over the red rocks, and rain began to fall. We had to cancel our Grand Canyon trip today, because it was a tad suicidal. The South Rim had six inches of snow falling all day long, with no visibility.
The good traveler always has a plan b. And our plan b involves our b and b. Luckily, the b and b where we are staying, Casa Sedona, had availability for an extra night. Wow, what a cute room we have. It has a whirlpool bath, a fireplace, a balcony, and an armoire.

Last night, we dined at Reds, a really cool place at a local hotel.

All the employees at our various destinations have professed belief in the whole vortex phenom. I am open to it, but have not felt a whole lot of anything.

ENCHANTING

This morning, we went to a stunning resort of new age charms -- Enchantment. What a gorgeous setting! It is in the Boynton Canyon, surrounded by red rock formations and a vortex. The hotel itself is beautifully designed with a great spa and meditation room replete with crystals.

DEATHWISH 2009

Our next stop was the little town of Jerome. We used our GPS system to find this ghost town, only to find that our GPS is a little devil. We went up Mingus Mountain (don't you love that name??) about 7000 feet, and the GPS sent us up a one lane dirt road that twisted and turned up a steep mountainside, with a sheer cliff on one side, and a mountain wall on the other. Sheesh! Did I mention that the mountain was enshrouded in heavy fog? Yeah! If I made a movie of this experience, I would name it "Deathwish 2009" or the "GPS Possessed." By the time we got to Jerome, I was about to faint, and we drove like a bat out of hell past the Bordello Pizzeria, et al. Get me the heck out of this mountain fog!

Maybe I now know why it is a ghost town! The fog ate everyone. Scary. It made me glad we did not try for the Grand Canyon today. Fog looms heavy over the high altitudes. Like driving through  bowl of soup. On the way down, Carlo and I avoided the deathtrap alley, even though our evil GPS again tried to send us that way, and we took the highway home. Phew!

LUNCH WITH A WARTHOG

We next lunched at Javelina Cantina. It had great views of the red rocks, and yummy salsa. Javelinas are animals that resemble (a) warthogs (b) hippos and (c) pigs. The hostess told us that although they are related to hippos they are actually smelly musk hogs, and are also rodents. Huh?? I question her grades in biology. Not that I excelled there either.
The real issue is why would a restaruant want to be named after smelly rodent hippos? One for the ages.

SHOP

Next we hit the local shops, many with turquoise, and really enjoyed the beauty of the Spanish colonial architecture at Tlaquepaque. Hard to say, hard to spell. But very cute.

GO TO BED ALREADY

What is weird about this town is that the streets roll up at 6! It is recommended that you make dinner reservations before 7, as places sometimes close at 8! All the stores close at 5. I asked why and the answer was that the beauty of the stars is valued, and that means no street lights. Or maybe the residents are all 80 and up. Not sure.

FEED BAG
Tonight we are dining at Dahl and Deluca. This is not a town for foodies. If eating or drinking is what you truly crave, go to New Orleans instead.


Tomorrow, more Sedona at Oak Creek, the chapel, and heading back to Phoenix, where it is also raining today.

Your Imaginary Friend,

 Patsie >^..^<

Phoenix Revisited

Dear Imaginary Friends, 

A year and a half ago, my husband and I traveled to Phoenix and Sedona, Arizona in January. Brr, it was chilly. Here is what happened:

Day One,  fly to Phoenix. It was a five hour flight, and our pilot was an aspiring stand up comedian. Hey, just cuz Sully is our new hero, don't let it go to your head, Captain. All  pilots are not the same.

Phoenix has a reputation for being the capital of bad haircuts and hair dos, and when we landed at  the airport, I was dying to find out if that were true. Sadly, it most definitely is! It's a hair don't.

We drove straight to Sedona, a beautiful if stark drive, with lots of saguaro cacti, red rocks,  impressive mountain formations, and a slew of new age goings on. There are about four vortices here, supposedly, where currents of electrical or magnetic force are said to run.

We went to one after dinner and I experienced a feeling of pressure in my head.

Which leads to the next phenom: a plethora of spas! I guess they help get rid of your pressure headache.

There are jeep tours, with views from above. The Grand Canyon is our destination for tomorrow, but the news warns of a bunch of snow falling and little visibility.

Perfect scenario: we struggle up the high country through the snow in our little rental car, only to miss the road and drive into the canyon, Thelma and Louise style. Well, if we are stuck here another night, I would really not complain...it is gorgeous. So much here has landscape painting potential.

Need any crystals?

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie